Tag Archives: United States

Mauritanian officials confirmed on Saturday 1 June that Younis al-Mauritani, a prisoner suspected of being a senior Al-Qaeda member, was transferred by the United States from the infamous Bagram military base in Afghanistan to his native Mauritania, an important Western ally against Al-Qaeda in the Sahel region.

Al-Mauritani was originally captured in Pakistan in 2011 in a joint US-Pakistani operation and was then suspected on planning attacks on US economic interests in Pakistan as well as European and Australian targets. Mauritania had issued an international arrest warrant against him pursuant to a deadly attack on an army base in 2005 and a police shootout in 2008.

A Chinese statement issued during a visit by US Secretary of State John Kerry said the nuclear issue was the ‘shared responsibility of all parties’. North Korea has recently threatened nuclear attacks, and is feared to be preparing a missile launch. China and the US vowed to work together to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear programme and to settle tensions through dialogue. John Kerry said that the US and China were able ‘to underscore our joint commitment to the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula in a peaceful manner’.

The UN Security Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) for another year, until 19 March 2014. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged for continued UN support to the Afghan government up to and beyond the 2014 deadline for the assumption of full responsibility of governance, security and development in most areas.

In the resolution, the Council “stresses the critical importance of a continued presence of UNAMA and other United Nations agencies, funds and programmes in the provinces, consistent with the transition process, in support of and in cooperation with the Afghan Government.”

The withdrawal of most of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and United States troops from Afghanistan is planned to be completed by the end of 2014. A transition of responsibility for security in the state from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to Afghan forces is underway.

North Korea has accused the United States (US) and its allies of carrying out ‘intensive and persistent’ cyber attacks on its official websites. These accusations come at a time of increased tensions between North Korea on the one hand and South Korea and the US on the other, and only a few days after the start of the annual joint military drills by the US and South Korea.

The United States (US) has delayed the transfer of control over the Bagram Prison in Afghanistan to Afghan control, in view of the dispute of the continuing involvement of the US in matters of detention policy.

The New York Times reports that the US is concerned about dangerous insurgents being freed, and that they ‘want to keep a veto power over whom the Afghans release; they want promises that the Afghans will not release certain dangerous prisoners, whom the American military calls Enduring Security Threats, or E.S.T.’s, even if they cannot be prosecuted in court for specific offenses; and they want promises that the United States will retain access to Afghan-run cellblocks to ensure that detainees are not being abused.’